Fated To the Alpha by Jessica Hall
Chapter 79
Mateo POV:
I was in a terrible mood, and I felt likes Sh*t to add on top of it. It was stifling out here today and it was only early morning still, it was going to be a scorcher. Ezra was acting strange when he left, very out of character like something beyond the norm was bothering him.
I finished pulling the busted front guard off my car and was about to remove the radiator when I heard the front door open. Kat comes out walking towards me.
D*mn and here I was thinking she would stay inside and ignore me, at least I was hoping she would. I felt bad for what I said, I knew ultimately the choice was mine, but s*cked watching her Ezra together when I wanted her, wanted him though Ezra has never thought of me like that, and why would he? He was straight.
Standing up, Kat comes over before handing me a bottle of water. I take it from her cracking the lid before taking a sip of it.
“Can it be fixed?” She asks, looking at the car.
“Yep, the ute no but this just needs a front bar and grill and a new radiator” she nods before looking at me.
“Did Ezra seem off to you?” She asked and I knew something was up with him, especially if Kat thought he was acting strange.
“Yep, probably arguing with Maddox, why what did he do?” I ask her.
“Nothing he was asking about you” she says with a shake of her head.
“I’m sorry about earlier, I didn’t mean what I said” I tell her, though that was only half true.
“Yes you did but it’s okay Mateo, I get it” she says before chewing her fingernail. I hadn’t realized I was staring too long until she shifted from one foot to the other awkwardly as she stared back.
“I made breakfast if you’re hungry,” she says, turning around and heading back inside.
‘She is also acting strange’ Ares says watching her through my eyes, she walks inside closing the door. I was suddenly feeling uncomfortable. Why were they acting strange? I know Ezra and I had an argument but usually he is over it as soon as it starts. We had plenty of run-ins but our friendship was never jeopardized from them though something was different.
“Need a hand at training?” I ask him through the mindlink.
“No everything is fine, what is Kat doing?” He asks which I thought odd when he could mindlink her.
“She is inside, is everything ok. I can leave if you want Ezra. I don’t want to get in between you and Kat if it is going to make things strained”
“No, you are where you belong Mateo, Kat and I are fine. Why did she do something?” He asks. Huh? What was the go with 20 questions?
“No, is she supposed to?”
“Nothing she doesn’t want to do?” Ezra answers vaguely.
“Whatever man, if you got something to say, just say it I can take it” I tell him.
“Just go spend time with Kat” He answers before abruptly cutting the link before I could speak.
‘Yeah I think Maddox is planning to murder us’ Ares says.
‘He isn’t going to k!ll us, why would you even think that?” I ask him.
‘There being strange, since when do they act like that and Ezra’s vague answers’ Ares says and I pack everything up.
‘So you just a*s*sume he is going to k!ll me for what I said earlier?’ I ask, shaking my head at him.
‘Makes sense to me’ Ares says.
I take everything out to the shed before walking inside. Kat was leaning on the kitchen counter when I walked in, eating scrambled eggs on toast.
“You came in” She says like she didn’t think I would.
“Yeah, you okay?” I ask her and she nods.
“Are you?” She asks, staring at me oddly again though I saw her eyes sparkle brighter and knew Kora was with her too.
‘Kora’ I nod to her and Kat hands me my plate and I lean on the other side of the counter watching her as she eats while I start eating mine.
“Ok Kora is creeping me out, why does she keep staring?” I ask her, she shrugs and I could tell she was unsure.
“No idea she is being-, I don’t know different” She answers before sipping her water.
“Does she wanna go for a run?” I asked her, it was the longest I have seen her come forward.
“Maybe but my father is on his way over, maybe afterwards if Ezra says it’s okay” She answers before biting into her toast.
We eat in silence when I hear the doorbell ring before the door opens. “In the kitchen Dad” She calls out as she rinses her plate. I finish mine and she holds her hand out for the plate and I p@ssit to her and she quickly rinses it before stacking it on the side of the sink.
“Hey pumpkin” Her father says walking into the kitchen. I watch Kat roll her eyes at the nickname which just made me more curious about why her father calls her it.
“Mateo, how have you been?” Her father asks.
“Good, well I will go” I tell them and Kat turns around looking at me.
“Are you leaving?” she asks and even her father looks at her strangely, her voice sounding off.
“Yeah to remove my radiator, I will be back,” I tell her, walking out and shaking my head.
‘Yep, Maddox told her he was k!lling us’ Ares says and I roll my eyes at my stupid wolf.
Katya POV
“What was that about?” my father asks as I watch Mateo leave. I turn to face him and I feel Kora leave now that Mateo was out of the room.
“Pardon?” I ask.
“You and Mateo, what’s going on with you two and where is Ezra?” My father asks.
“Oh nothing, and Ezra is doing training today” I tell him, walking over to the kettle before holding it up to him, he nods and I turn it on, grabbing some mugs down.
Turning back to my father he was watching me and I looked away, uneasy by his gaze like he was studying some science project.
“Are you sleeping with Mateo?” He asks suddenly, making my jaw drop.
“What no, I have a mate” I tell him shocked he would even ask that.
“But you like him, does Ezra know?” he asks.
‘And we thought mum was observant’ Kora says listening in.
‘I never said I like Mateo’ I tell her.
‘You also never said you didn’t’ She retorts.
‘We have a mate and Maddox would k!ll him,” I tell her and she shuts up.
“What are you arguing over with your wolf?” My father asks, his eyes scrutinizing my face. I turn around making coffee, anything to get away from his gaze. Why did Ezra have to say the things he said this morning, his actions confusing me and I was confusing myself now as well.
“Spill I know you’re hiding something” My father says.
“I will when you do, what’s going on with you and mum?” I ask him, and my father sighs.
“I moved back home, but I am staying in the spare room. We are trying to work things out, I just don’t know if I can forgive her” He says. I nod, I felt caught in the middle of them, it was hard knowing there was a chance they may not get back to the way they were or not all.
“Where is mum?”
“At home, she wanted to come but I asked her to stay home so I could spend time with you” He says.
“And she was okay with that?” I ask and he nods.
“So what is going on with you and Mateo?” My father asks and I hand him his mug before sipping my own.
“Nothing, but Ezra was asking me some weird questions this morning and now it feels awkward” I tell him.
“About what?” My father asks, pushing the chair out with his foot and I walk over to it and sit down.
“Asking if I like Mateo, I think he was trying to find out if I wanted Mateo” I answered, my face heating at what I was telling my father, though he and I were close I could tell him anything, yet that didn’t seem to make it easier to tell him. But for some strange reason dad just happens to be around when things turn awkward.
“Okay, did he seem angry but more importantly do you want Mateo too?” my father asks.
“Ezra no, just different and I have a mate,” I tell him and my father shrugs.
“You can love two people at once, I did,” He says.
“Ezra is straight dad” I tell him.
“But I am guessing Mateo is not. So say you didn’t have a mate and Ezra didn’t exist. Would you choose Mateo?” He asks, his l*ps turning up deviously.
“Well…”
“Answer the question I won’t judge you know that” He says.
“If that were the case then yes” I tell him before letting out a breath.
“Okay, next question, say Ezra wasn’t your mate, who would you choose out of them?”
“Dad?”
“Humour me” He says and I think, though the answer isn’t straight forward I liked them both for different reasons.
“I wouldn’t be able to, if Ezra wasn’t my mate. I wouldn’t be able to choose”
“And that’s because you love Mateo too” My father says with a shrug.
“It’s not a bad thing Kat, but it does make me wonder why Ezra was asking, I know he is straight, but why would he ask you if he didnt think you did love him, or is there another motive behind why he is asking?” My father says.
“He knows I wont leave him Dad, I have told him that already”
“Then why ask? Maybe you should ask your mate, especially if it is making you feel this way, maybe he intentionally made you question yourself and from what I can tell you are doing that” He says. Hmm maybe I thought.
“Was it weird having two mates?” I ask him.
“No, for your mothers it was but we kept everything separate, Kathrine was fine sharing clearly your mother wasn’t. But for a while it was working.”
“Do you believe mum k!lled her deliberately?”
“No, I know she never intentionally did it Kat, don’t doubt that. Your mother loved her sister, tossed her entire life away to protect her, that’s why she was always training, so she could protect her. And also because she wanted to be recognised by her father, he never treated your mother the way he did Kathrine. Kathrine was special, Shirley had to earn his attention but nothing she ever did gained her the same treatment, your mother was always treated as the sold*ier the protector, it was expected of her, Kathrine was her best friend, only friend growing up. But whenever Shirley fought with her father Katherine was always on her side. They had a bond being twins, like two halves of a whole, both opposite but the same” He explains.
“Everyone snaps,” I tell him and he nods.
“Yes they just need the right trigger” my father says before he looks at his hands. I grab his hand, squeezing it.
“Do you think you can forgive her?’ I ask him.
“Yes but what’s that make me if I do though, Katherine was my mate”
“And so is mum, if Katherine…if my mum was really as close with her as you say she was, then she wouldn’t expect you to turn her away, she would just want you both to be happy” I tell him.
“I know she would but that doesn’t make it any easier, she k!lled somebody. I know it isn’t a big deal she has k!lled plenty of people but Katherine, she was mine, Kat, she was mine first and she k!lled her”
The door opens in the foyer and we both look to the door and Mateo walks in before washing his hands, turning back to my father. He had a silly smirk on his face before he wiggled his eyebrows at me,I rolled my eyes at him and he slapped my hand.
“Hate when you do that” He says.
“And I hate you calling me Pumpkin” I tell him.
“You will always be my little pumpkin” He says and scrunch my face up at him and he laughs.
“We are going for a run, if you want to come, Derrick,” Mateo says and I look over my shoulder at him.
“You asked Ezra?” I ask him.
“Yeah, he said it was fine and after training, he would find us, so you want to come too?” Mateo asks, looking at my father.
“No, I will leave you kids to it. I should get to work anyway, being kind of slacking in that department” He says standing up and k*ssing my head.
“I will catch you later Mateo, have fun” He says walking out, I follow him to the door and close it when he leaves.
“Ready?, Ezra just said not go past the river, we can always go swimming and then head back” Mateo says, tugging his shirt off over his head as he walks out the back.
“He said we could go swimming?” I ask him and he nods.
“Yeah said he might meet us out there” Mateo says before dropping his pants. I look at the sky and away from him. Kora the pervert telling me to look at him when I hear bones snapping and shifting before Ares’ nose touches my hand and I look down.
“Turn around then” I tell him and he does so I can shift.